Speaker 1: From The Daily Os.
Speaker 2: I'm Zara, I'm Sam.
Speaker 1: It's Thursday, the twenty third of January. Here's what's making
Speaker 1: headlines this evening.
Speaker 2: Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lemon has requested a trial without
Speaker 2: a jury as he prepares to face rape charges in
Speaker 2: the Queensland's Court. Lehman is accused of two counts of
Speaker 2: sexual assault dating back to October of twenty twenty one
Speaker 2: in Toowoomba, which is west of Brisbane. His lawyers are
Speaker 2: expected to file an application to the Twomba District Court
Speaker 2: seeking a judge only trial. The request means it would
Speaker 2: be up to a single justice rather than a jury,
Speaker 2: to determine whether or not Lehman is guilty. The twenty
Speaker 2: nine year old is yet to enter a plea, but
Speaker 2: his lawyers have indicated he will defend the charges. Pre
Speaker 2: trial hearings will begin in March.
Speaker 1: New South Wales police are searching for three men believed
Speaker 1: to have assaulted two off duty police officers in Sydney's
Speaker 1: Inner West. It's understood the officers approached a group of
Speaker 1: men who are arguing with each other in Newtown late
Speaker 1: last night. Emergency services were called to the scene after
Speaker 1: the men then allegedly punched and kicked the officers repeatedly.
Speaker 1: One officer, a twenty five year old man, was found
Speaker 1: unconscious and given CPR. He was taken to hospital in
Speaker 1: a serious but stable condition. The second off duty officer,
Speaker 1: also a twenty five year old man, was taken to
Speaker 1: hospital with facial injuries, but has since been discharged. New
Speaker 1: South Wales police said the attackers fled the scene before
Speaker 1: police arrived. They're calling for any witnesses or anyone who
Speaker 1: may have CCTV or dashcam footage of the incident to
Speaker 1: come forward.
Speaker 2: A new wildfire has broken out in Los Angeles, forcing
Speaker 2: the evacuations of more than thirty thousand residents. Within six
Speaker 2: hours of igniting, the Hughes fire burned through nearly forty
Speaker 2: square kilometers of vegetation near Santa Clarita, which is northwest
Speaker 2: of La. Large amounts of fire retardant have been spread
Speaker 2: across the impacted area thanks to slower wind speeds. The
Speaker 2: California Fire Department has instructed residents in parts of the
Speaker 2: La and Vas Tourer counties to leave now, citing an
Speaker 2: immediate threat to life. An ongoing wildfire crisis in southern
Speaker 2: California has claimed at least twenty eight lives this month
Speaker 2: and destroyed thousands of structures. In addition to the latest
Speaker 2: evacuations prompted by the Hues fire, twenty three thousand other
Speaker 2: LA residents remain under evacuation orders as crew's continue efforts
Speaker 2: to contain the Palisades and Eaten wildfires.
Speaker 1: And today's good news, solar energy production in Europe has
Speaker 1: overtaken coal for the first time ever. The latest report
Speaker 1: from climate think tank ember Energy found solar panels generated
Speaker 1: eleven percent of the European Union's electricity in twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: compared to coal burning plants, which generated just ten percent
Speaker 1: of the EU's annual energy. The European Electricity Review also
Speaker 1: shows gas power generation declined for the fifth consecutive year. Collectively,
Speaker 1: renewable sources generated twenty seven percent of the EU's power
Speaker 1: grid in twenty twenty four, led by wind and solar
Speaker 1: as the region becomes less reliant on fossil fuels.
Speaker 2: That's the latest from the Daily OZ newsroom. If you're
Speaker 2: looking for something else to listen to this evening, make
Speaker 2: sure you catch up on today's deep Dive from Billie
Speaker 2: and Emma on the national response to increased anti Semitism.
Speaker 1: We'll be back again tomorrow morning with a deep dive
Speaker 1: on the push to overturn b am I as a metric.
Speaker 1: You'll have to tune in to listen to that episode
Speaker 1: tomorrow morning. Have a great evening. My name is Lily
Speaker 1: Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda Bungelung Calcottin woman from
Speaker 1: Gadigol Country. The Daily oz acknowledges that this podcast is
Speaker 1: recorded on the lands of the Gadighl people and pays
Speaker 1: respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait island and nations.
Speaker 1: We pay our respects to the first peoples of these countries,
Speaker 1: both past and present.